Less Quiet Days
by deebainwonderland
Summary: After thinking him dead, the Straw Hat crew readjusts to having their captain back. Meanwhile, Luffy tries to figure out what the heck is going on with everybody. Sequel to These Quiet Days.


**Less Quiet Days**

By: deebainwonderland

Disclaimer: Still own nothing.

Summary: After thinking him dead, the Straw Hat crew readjusts to having their captain back. Meanwhile, Luffy tries to figure out what the heck is going on with everybody. Sequel to These Quiet Days.

 _Note: This story is a sequel. I highly suggest reading "These Quiet Days" first in order to fully understand this story_.

Luffy burst through the kitchen door, feet skidding on the polished floors as he rounded the corner a little too fast and took a header into one of the shelves. Laughing at his own clumsiness, the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates straightened up to grin at the man he knew he would find mere feet away standing by the stove.

The grin faltered and faded. He must have really taken Sanji by surprise because the cook had dropped an egg on the floor and was staring back at him with wide shocked eyes. The egg yolk had splattered and was now running sluggishly down the wood. Normally Sanji would lament the loss of not only the food but the clean floor as well.

Today, however, the cook barely seemed to notice.

He was too busy staring at his boy captain, an expression of unguarded shock and pain on his face. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and Sanji turned to pick up a rag to clean up the ruined egg.

Luffy wasn't quite sure what to do with this strange encounter, so he tried another smile. "Sanji, I'm starving. Food! Now!"

Sanji still had his back to Luffy as he knelt on the floor and rubbed harder than necessary at the mess. The silence stretched for a long moment until the cook stood back up and turned to the stove.

"Wait there," he said quietly, eyes on the counter, "I'll get you something."

Luffy, who had been ready for a fight, cocked his head to one side. Sanji often had to be coerced into making him snacks in-between meals. Only three days had passed since he came back to the crew after a week away. While he had been in a deep slumber thanks to an unlucky encounter with a marine with devil fruit powers, his crew received apparently definitive news that he had perished.

Died.

The captain of the crew might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but contrary to popular opinion, he wasn't an idiot.

Ten minutes later, Sanji set a steaming plate in front of Luffy and then leaned forward, elbows on the table, to watch his captain eat.

Luffy ate with the same inhaling gusto that he always did. Sanji often complained with the way his captain ate but this time he watched intently, not speaking, as each mouthful went down.

When Luffy was finished, he held the plate out to Sanji and exclaimed, "That was the best food ever, Sanji! Man, I never want to go a week without your food again!"

The haunted look returned to Sanji's eyes as he took the plate from Luffy's hands.

Luffy was almost at the door when he heard the voice behind him speak.

"You won't."

Luffy turned back, eyebrows raised. "What?"

Sanji still wasn't looking at him; this time he stared out the window to the sea.

"You won't" he repeated, "We… we won't lose you again."

The hand around the knife tightened. "Next time, we'll come get your sorry ass. So you better eat everything I make!"

As laughter filled the kitchen, Sanji's shoulder finally slumped, the nervous tension leaving his body in a great rush. He felt like he was breathing for the first time in days.

"Don't worry, I will!"

X

Chopper was reorganizing the medicine jars on his desk for the umpteenth time when he heard his own office door open.

Turning, he was face to face with his captain. Luffy smiled at him and opened his mouth to speak but Chopper beat him there.

"Luffy!" he cried, vaulting off his stool and hurrying over, "Are you feeling ok? Are you hurt? What's wrong?"

Taken aback, Luffy stared down at his friend and held his hands out in front of him, as if he was trying to ward something off.

"Nothing!" he said timidly, "I just wanted to see what you were doing."

Chopper eyed him suspiciously. "Come here," he said, "I want to give you another check-up."

"But you already did one," Luffy complained, fidgeting, "I'm fine!

"We don't know what the sleep-sleep fruit does to the body," Chopper replied, "March!"

Reluctantly, Luffy made his way over to the examination table. He hopped up onto it and looked mournfully over at the doctor.

"Oh you're fine," the reindeer said, silently repeating the same words over to himself, as he had been doing for three days.

It took half an hour for Chopper to do another complete check-up on his captain. He had to admit, nothing seemed out of order, even if Luffy had been in a magical sleep for an entire week.

When he finally finished, Luffy leapt of the examination table and swing in a circle, overly large arms threatening to knock the carefully place medicine jars off the desk.

"Come on Chopper," he cried, "Let's go play."

Chopper grabbed on the jars in danger and replied, "Sorry, Luffy, I can't right now. I still have a lot of research to do."

Luffy pouted but he could see that there would be no convincing his doctor today. Disappointed, he left the room.

Chopper paused for a long moment in the middle of his office before moving over to one of his large bookshelves. Finding what he was looking for, Chopper selected a book about many different kinds of devil fruits and began to turn the pages slowly, looking for any mention of the word "sleep".

X

Usopp sat on the edge of the Thousand Sunny, a fishing pole gripped in his hands. He had been at it for hours but the fish just didn't seem to be biting today. Still, Usopp found that he could not bring himself to move.

For the last three days he seemed to be permanently exhausted. It was as if that entire week Luffy had been….gone, breath just wouldn't come. Now that the captain was back the tension had left Usopp's body in one great rush and now he was just tired.

There wasn't any warning before the air shifted next to him and Usopp turned to see said captain settling next to him.

"Catch anything?" asked Luffy, staring out at the rolling waves.

The sniper hadn't meant to stiffen and he masked it by leaping to his feet, throwing an arm out towards the sea.

"Not yet, but the great Usopp never gives up!" he exclaimed with an exuberance he didn't really feel.

"Let me have a go!" Luffy cried. He reached out a hand for the fishing pole only to have it snatched away.

A look of panic momentarily flickered in Usopp's eyes. He turned away and stared out over the waves.

"Umm, maybe later, ok, Luffy?

His dismissal was obvious. Feeling more than a little hurt, Luffy retreated.

X

Luffy sat aside the Thousand Sunny figurehead, looking out over the rolling waves. He didn't know what time is was but it had to be late into the night because the only light was coming from the watch tower far above him.

Normally, Luffy wasn't one to stay up late but tonight sleep had alluded him. He laid in his bunk for a while listening to the snores around him but eventually had come to seek refuge here.

Now, he might not be the smartest person around, but Luffy knew that something was going on with his crew. They had thought he was dead, but in the years they had all been together, there were many times where the captain was in serious danger.

Normally, Nami would wallop him over the head for going off on his own. Sanji would call him an idiot and Usopp would boast about how things would have been different if he had been there. Robin would softly say she was glad to see him and Zoro would roll his eyes.

This time was different and frankly it was driving Luffy crazy. Everyone seemed to be avoiding him to some degree and they would jump whenever he approached. The Thousand Sunny was usually a ship full of light and laughter but over the last few days a gloom enveloped it, working its way into every corner.

Now, sitting in his favorite spot, he looked out over the rolling waves. Luffy loved the sea. Some people called him crazy for it. After all, as a devil fruit user, it was his most dangerous enemy.

This didn't matter to the straw hat captain. Even if he was caught in the ocean's unyielding embrace, he knew there were many who would jump in after him time and time again.

Luffy loved the sea for the same reason he loved his crew. With them, he could go anywhere.

"You're up late" came a drawling voice behind him.

Luffy didn't have to turn around to know who it was. "Couldn't sleep."

Zoro leaned his back against the railing but instead of looking at the sea or his captain, he tilted his head up, to the stars.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

Luffy didn't answer for a moment. Putting his feelings into words was never his strong suit.

"Everyone's acting…strange," he said haltingly, "When I woke up in that old lady's house and realized that I had been asleep for a week, I was so excited to get back to the ship. To the crew. I thought you would all be happy to see me."

"We were," murmured Zoro.

Turning to his first mate, Luffy gave him a small smile, "I know that. I do. But it seems like ever since I got back everyone's been strange. Off. And I don't know how to fix it."

Zoro was silent for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was contemplative. "I don't think you can do anything. Everyone just needs a bit of time."

"But I want to help!" Luffy exclaimed, his frustration showing.

The smile that Zoro awarded him was blinding. Only his captain could bring such emotion from the usually stoic swordsman.

"I know," he said gently, "I know you want to help. But, Luffy, when we thought we lost you, for good, we…."

" **When we thought we lost you, we broke."**

A small strangled sound escaped from Luffy's throat. He had never heard his first-mate sound so raw. He reached out a hand to touch Zoro's shoulder but pulled away at the last moment. Zoro was hunched in on himself and it felt like an intrusion to touch him.

"But…" Luffy said uncertainly, "I'm back now. I'm ok."

"This time."

The two words sounded like they were ripped from Zoro's throat.

He glanced over at his captain and continued, "This time. We lost you and you came back. This time. But I think for the first time we realized that it could happen again. And next time you might not come back."

A long silence stretched between the two as the stars glittered far above them.

"I don't know what to say," Luffy murmured, "You all know I'm willing to risk everything to become King of the Pirates."

A laugh bubbled out from the swordsman. Luffy flinched and stared at him in shock. It hardly seemed to be a time to laugh.

Zoro held out a hand to ward off the stare. "We know," he said, now with a grin, "We know. And we are willing to risk everything along with you. But that doesn't make it easier. It's just, if you do go down, we need to be there to go down with you."

Luffy started to say something but Zoro cut him off. "No! We weren't with you. If that had been real, then you would have died alone. We wouldn't have even been there. You would have been alone."

Zoro's hands were gripping the railing so tight that his knuckles turned white.

Here is was. The reason everyone had been acting so strangely. Why Chopper was shut in his office. Why Usopp wouldn't hang out with him. Why Sanji would give him whatever he wanted. Why Robin and Nami hovered and Franky disappeared into the ship and Brook played sad music.

Guilt.

"It was an anniversary," Luffy said quietly.

The tone of his voice caught Zoro off guard and he turned to stare at him. A haunted look had forced its way into his captain's eyes and Zoro felt an inexplicable need to reach out and touch him.

Since Zoro wasn't naturally a very touchy-feely guy, he settled for a hand on his captain's back.

"An anniversary?"

Luffy nodded. "I lost my brother about this time of year. I guess I just needed to be alone for a little while."

Zoro's breath rushed out in a giant gasp. Silence stretched between the two for a long moment.

"Its months until Ace's anniversary, Luffy," he said softly.

Luffy turned to his friend, a sad smile on his face. "I wasn't talking about Ace."

Zoro's eyes widened in realization. "Not Ace?"

"No," Luffy replied, eyes bright but dry, "Not Ace. There used to be three of us. Ace, me and Sabo."

The name was unfamiliar. Luffy knew so much about his crew but Zoro realized that they might not know so much about their captain.

"Sabo?" he prompted gently.

"He was our brother," Luffy said, "Ace's and mine. When we were young. But we lost him years ago, about this time of year."

The hand on his back gripped Luffy's red shirt, twisting into the material.

"There used to be three," said Luffy with a small laugh that sounded too bitter to come from him, "And now there is only one."

"How did he die?" Zoro asked, blunt as ever.

Luffy, however, just shook his head. This was the first time in years that Luffy had even spoken his brother's name. He found himself unable to say anything more.

Zoro seemed to understand. The two stood in silence for a long time, watching the waves roll in the distance.

"We won't lose you again," Zoro muttered, "Next year… next year we'll come with you."

Warmth blossomed in Luffy's chest. He ducked his head and asked, "So everyone's going to get back to normal?

"Sure," Zoro replied, "Just don't go off on your own for a while, ok?

"I promise," Luffy replied, voice earnest.

"Come on," the first mate said, hand circling around his captain's arm and gently pulling him away from the railing, "Let's go get some sleep. After all, you never know, maybe tomorrow we'll find our next adventure."

Luffy allowed himself to be lead away.

Tomorrow was a new day. A new adventure. And they were all together.

So everything was fine. 

_Fin_

 _ **Please review to let me know what you think!**_


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